July 18 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said health care costs are strapping small-business owners in America and Congress should grant tax breaks that would allow millions of Americans to buy private health insurance.

Bush spoke after a roundtable discussion with three small- business owners in Landover, Maryland, a Washington suburb.

``I heard a common complaint that health care costs are too high'' and that small-business owners ``are being pinched,'' he told reporters.

The president wants Congress to make employer-sponsored health benefits taxable income while also approving deductions for health insurance of $7,500 for individuals and $15,000 for families. Savings would help defray the cost of buying their own insurance.

Bush's attempt to stoke interest in helping more Americans afford health insurance, a centerpiece of his domestic agenda, reflects an effort to salvage a legacy for his second term. Plans to overhaul Social Security collapsed in 2005; more recently, an effort to revamp U.S. immigration laws was defeated by members of his own party.

Congress so far has shown little interest in the president's health care proposals as his approval ratings in opinion polls have slid to less than 30 percent, the lowest in modern times.

Before the roundtable, Bush toured Man & Machine, Inc. in Landover, which makes water-resistant computer accessories and also designs, manufacturers and repairs PC accessories, laptops and notebook computers.

$5,600 a Month

Company president Clifton Broumand pays about $5,600 a month in health care insurance for his 28 employees, more than the cost of rent, the White House said.

About 47 million Americans, 16 percent of the population, don't have health insurance, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. While 60 percent of working-age Americans got insurance through their employer in 2005, that figure is down from 66 percent in 2001, according to a December report by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.

That reflects a shrinking of employer-sponsored plans as medical costs rise at a rate more than twice the pace of inflation.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright © 2007 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved.